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Manchester City Prepare £23.5m Bid for Italian International Daniele De Rossi

Citizens boss Roberto Mancini was keen to sign the 28-year-old last summer and again in the January transfer window, but the Etihad Stadium moneymen were reluctant to pay a fee for a player who was approaching the end of his contract.

De Rossi went on to sign a new deal in February and is now committed to Roma until 2017.

That has done nothing to quell Mancini’s admiration for the player, who he believes could make City serious contenders for the Champions League.

He appears to have won over the directors and the Premier League champions are now ready to pay £23.5million for De Rossi, reports Il Messaggero.

When it comes to transfer news, Manchester City have kept their cards relatively close to their chest this summer.

But it certainly looks as if a holding midfielder is on Roberto Mancini’s wish-list and a move for Daniele De Rossi makes perfect sense.

Like Javi Martinez – another reported City target – De Rossi can cover at both centre-back and holding midfield, as he proved so admirably with Italy during Euro 2012. With Kolo Toure set to move on this summer, this versatility seems to be at the forefront of Mancini’s thinking.

What’s more, the Italian tactician is a known admirer of the Roma enforcer and tried to sign his compatriot last summer.

After the failure of the Owen Hargreaves gamble, Mancini is in need of defensive midfield reinforcements. Gareth Barry isn’t getting any younger, while Nigel de Jong is in the last year of his contract and likely to join either AC or Inter Milan this summer. The immense Yaya Toure is still very much on the scene but Mancini would prefer him to play further up the field, so a defensive presence like De Rossi would free up the Ivorian to stretch his formidable legs.

Finally, De Rossi has gone public with his admiration for the Premier League (in particular, Steven Gerrard) and is likely to jump at the chance to join the Champions.

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